The Wills Group Raises more than $500,000 for Community Leadership Fund
The Wills Group, parent company of SMO Energy, a provider of propane, heating oil and HVAC equipment in southern Maryland, says it raised more than $500,000 at its inaugural Blackie Wills Golf Classic and Gala, a two-day event at Turf Valley Resort in Ellicott City, Md.
The Sept.10-11 event raised funds for The Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund, which honors Julian Blacklock “Blackie” Wills, the third president and CEO of The Wills Group, and carries on his commitment to community and civic engagement. The Wills Group is a family-owned company headquartered in La Plata, Md.
The fund, formed in 2016 in commemoration of The Wills Group’s 90th anniversary, has donated more than $450,000 in the past year to more than 40 charitable organizations across the Mid-Atlantic region to further efforts to end childhood hunger, and ensure safe and healthy homes, the company says. Organizations supported by the Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund during the past year include Farming4Hunger, a southern Maryland nonprofit that provides 26% of the fresh food that goes to the Maryland Food Bank, Jude House, an organization that provides housing and treatment for men and women in recovery, and Lifestyles of Maryland, a nonprofit that serves approximately 14,000 people, providing emergency assistance, transportation, housing and job training.
“The level of support we received for this year’s Blackie Wills Golf Classic & Gala is remarkable,” said Lock Wills, chairman, CEO and president of The Wills Group. “We thank our sponsors and everyone who contributed to the success of this inaugural event.”
Since 2006, The Wills Group says, it has donated more than $1.9 million to communities across Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Sponsors of the Blackie Wills Golf Classic and Gala include “Platinum Level” sponsors Bohler Engineering, Motiva Enterprises LLC, PNC, CWPS, UST Services Corporation, Ruppert Landscape, Petro Supply, Inc., Hopkins & Wayson General Contractors, S&D Coffee & Tea, Petroleum Management, Inc.; and “Gold Level” sponsors Jones & Frank, Core-Mark, Shell Global, Samuel Coraluzzo Co., Washington Gas, Petroleum Site Works, unzl Distribution USA, Inc., Matrix Capital Markets Group, Gilbarco Veeder-Root, R.E. Michel Company LLC, Car Wash Solutions, Able Applied Technologies USA LLC, Brown Advisory and Fabric Branding, Inc. Other contributors include CBS Baltimore, CITGO, Crown Trophy, Dash In Food Stores, Inc., Denison, ESPN980, Fidelity Engineering, Jonathan Ogden Foundation, Kohler, Lennox, SMO Energy, TEC Graphics, The Colley Gallery, Toasted Foot Cigar Lounger, Turf Valley Resort and Wayne Signs.
In addition to SMO Energy, The Wills Group is the parent company of Dash In Food Stores, Splash In ECO Car Wash, SMO Motor Fuels, and operates Potomac Energy Holdings (PEH) as part of a joint venture with Motiva Enterprises LLC.
The Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund (BWCLF) is a component fund within Chesapeake Charities, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The Chesapeake Charities financial statement is available at www.chesapeakecharities.org, at the Chesapeake Charities office at 101 Log Canoe Circle, Suite 0, Stevensville, MD 21666, or through the Secretary of State, Charitable Division, State House, Annapolis, MD 21401.